Art Briles is a defendant in a Title IX and negligence trial in which Baylor alumna Dolores Lozano alleges being physically assaulted by then-Bears player Devin Chafin in 2014. He took the stand yesterday and essentially pleaded the Sgt. Schultz defense. I mean, how ludicrous does this sound?
But for much of his testimony, Briles pleaded ignorance. He said he had “no awareness” of Title IX when he started at Baylor in 2007 and didn’t receive any Title IX training until fall 2014. When Lozano’s attorney started to question him on something in his 2014 book, “Beating Goliath,” which is written in first-person, Briles said he didn’t know because he hadn’t read the book.
He also said he wasn’t familiar with his 2017 defamation lawsuit against three members of the board of regents, saying he “had a lawyer” and at one point he asked an attorney for Lozano, Zeke Fortenberry, “Did the suit go through?” to which Fortenberry responded, “You dismissed it.”
If you’re concerned that’s a sign of early dementia, relax. Art remembers what’s important to Art.
During testimony, when it came to football facts, Briles rattled off details with precision, even checking an attorney when he said Baylor won the Big 12 championship in 2014 by noting the Bears had actually shared that title with TCU.
Hey, you never have to show regret if you claim you know nothing about it.